


The Rosebush

by waywardindeed



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:29:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25037026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardindeed/pseuds/waywardindeed
Summary: Hi! I have never done anything like this before so hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and fully immersing myself in rumbelle feels.
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	The Rosebush

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I have never done anything like this before so hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and fully immersing myself in rumbelle feels.

He smiled over at the passenger seat in his car, the seat belt strapped around it like it was a person and by the way he was smiling at it, it certainly could’ve been. On the seat sat a small, clear vase, nothing near the elegance of his castle back in the Enchanted Forest but he quite liked how the thin top of it curved down to a larger bulb at the bottom which now held enough water to keep it alive without drenching himself and his car if it ever spilled. In the vase was the first flower of the season - well the first flower of this entire bush actually. He had planted this specific rose bush in a secluded but sunny patch of grass behind his shop, hoping for this exact day, yearning to watch a smile dance across his true love’s lips once it had grown. Though he had planted this bush with a red rose in his mind's eye - much like the one he had given her back in his castle - calling it red was a bit of a stretch, as this had a couple flecks of a beautiful pastel pink. He chuckled at that thought, the noise filling his once quiet car, he remembered quite clearly how easily he’d turned Gaston into that pretty gift and how graciously Belle had accepted her fiancé in his new form, more graciously than he gathered she had accepted him as a human. This flower did not disappoint, however, it’s complex pink color lighting up against the dreary grey of the sky outside. He smiled to himself at its beauty and couldn’t wait to get home to his.

He stopped the car just outside their house. That was one of his favorite things to say, _their_ house, not his anymore, all that loneliness that had consumed him for so many years had slowly faded away once Belle had reappeared in his life and he realized she hadn’t lost her feelings for her despite everything he’d done, chased her away, whisked her away from her family to be his servant, been everlastingly cruel to her. The list could go on for miles but she had insisted he should forget these worries and that all was fine and forgiven. Since she had been imprisoned for all those years, she then brought up the fact that she had nowhere to stay and before he knew it, had ended up suggesting his house, at least for the time being. He remembered how his heart flipped with joy when she had nodded her agreement and followed him there. The ends of his mouth crawled upwards at the thought of her waiting for him inside, filling his once lonely house with her perfect scent and wonderful presence. He grabbed his precious vase, eager to get back to her and set his golden-topped cane on the pavement before stepping out of the car and closing the door. 

—————

Belle’s ears perked up at the sound of a car engine dwindling and when she heard it’s door close, a couple seconds later, she shut her book and dropped it back onto the lavender and cream chair she’d spent the day on, springing to her feet. She had been predictably enthralled in her favorite book once again, _Her Handsome Hero_ , but who could blame her? She needed that nostalgia now, she needed to feel connected to the world, to her mom again and now that she was free she could finally revisit everything she’d spent wishing she could do during those dreadful decades alone. To be fair, she had actually spent most of them pondering why this, _Regina_ had locked her up in what she supposed was an insane asylum, she certainly didn’t _feel_ crazy, at least in the beginning, but as the days faded to years that distinction felt less and less absurd. In order to slow down said crazies, by the end of the first week she had come up with a schedule.

From the minute the small semi-circle of light scurried into her small room from the right side of the back wall nearest her bed, marking the beginning of the day, she would sit, legs curled up into her chest and arms wrapped around them, starting her thinking portion of the day. She’d spend this time until she heard the same knock at her door, the same hand reach through the flap to feed her the same gloopy, cold porridge; she would focus on Regina—specifically what their relationship was to each other and what she had done to end up in this dreadful place. Next after slowly finishing the porridge, she would flip the bowl over and do her best to smooth down her hair in the foggy reflection of the bowl. She later began to accept that this was an unachievable feat and it dropped out of her schedule, but in the start, even without any visitors except the hand that fed her she at least liked to pretend it was all going to be okay. 

After the two knocks sounded again at her door requesting her bowl and spoon, she allotted her time trying to figure out who _she_ was, which was sadly necessary given her weird bout of amnesia. She had dedicated the largest time slot, at least to her knowledge, trying to remember anything which rarely, if ever, happened. Between lunch and dinner was her free time, she had specifically planned this out in case anything exciting happened or some emergency presented itself, which it sadly never did but she still used this time well, sometimes doing sit-ups or sometimes, she would dream up scenarios in which she would make a great escape. These plans however, never seemed to work, whether this was to the fault of her sleep talking which someone outside her cell had not-so-kindly pestered her to stop on many occasions, or if this Regina was some sort of mastermind who could read thoughts and manipulate space and although much scarier, she preferred the latter as it was something she had fun imagining. Once her dinner had been brought and then collected, and the light had dwindled once again, she would resort back to sleep. 

Now she was free and even though there was so much of the world to explore now that she actually had the chance, every time she had clutched the doorknob, all the memories had flooded back, manifesting behind her eyelids, eating up all hope of ever leavin and because of this, the pages between her and the ending wall of the book became increasingly shorter, the climax intensifying so much it almost hurt to put down. Almost because she was way more excited about who was inevitably walking up to the pink Victorian house she was currently sitting in judging by the time of day. This person would switch between one leg and the other, assisted by a cane of course, as they walked up the green steps, staring at the numbers 403 that marked the house before turning the knob and pushing the door open to take harbour inside. As if on cue, she heard the lock click and ran downstairs to greet the only person who had the key to this house - the only person she wanted to see at this strenuous time. What she had not counted on was the very thing this man clutched in his hand tightly.

——————

Originally, he had thought to plant the rose that captivated his attention as a way to honor his Belle in this new world, but with her back from her imprisonment and his griefs squashed, his whole motivation had changed and he had long awaited its first bud. It had sprouted at the perfect time as well, he wanted to give it to her as a way to comfort her since he was afraid that she felt disconnected from the rest of this small town. She’d been free for about a week now but had yet to explore anything outside the house - even though there was little to offer outside of Granny’s - much preferring to stay inside and read. What scared him most about Belle’s current situation was surprisingly not the mayor, who knew exactly where he lived and would soon find the peculiar vacancy in her prison and was smart enough to connect the dots to the fact that Belle was with him—although he supposed that did play a part—but because the Belle he knew back in the Enchanted Forest was quite stubborn and courageous and at some times annoyingly persistent. The thing he admired most about her was the fact that she **never** backed down from a challenge, even if said challenge was to thaw a beastly heart of a terrible habit of evil. Many knew she liked reading and could probably understand her wanting to stay back, but she had told him of her sense of adventure and it worried him quite a bit that she hadn’t taken up on that side of her and hadn’t even brought up leaving the house. He didn’t mind this an awful lot especially after experiencing the terribly thirty-odd years without her and desperately wanting to make up every second but he hated this clear evidence of her pain, of just how much the queen had affected her and he would love to wipe her heart of it with his kisses. 

He shook his head as if it would dislodge the worry, bringing him back to the present as he stepped inside the house, glancing up as something rushed eagerly down the stairs at him. A smile took root on his face when he saw who it was prancing down the stairs. Belle was wearing one of the outfits he had encouraged her to steal from the back of his shop, a deep red dress that went down to her knees with a sheer lace covering the uppermost quarter around her neck. In the middle there was a black line that flowed down and gave way to a small belt of the same color around her waist and although this wasn’t the pretty yellow dress he had met her in or the blue dress she had worn in most of their time together, he did quite like how much it showed off. 

When she finally reached him and took his hands in hers, looking into his eyes happily, he realized somewhere he had lost the air he needed to speak. It was surprisingly funny to him that even after all these years separated from each other, of him wishing she might actually be alive and he could apologize for everything that now, when he actually had the chance to speak to her and express his indissoluble love for her, the nervousness had crept upon him again. He was not one to be unprepared, he had even taken a couple minutes back at his shop, waiting to start up his car as he rehearsed what he was going to say knowing this exact moment would come to pass, but all his preparations had gone to waste when she was right there in front of him, staring at him with her endless blue skies and he had to remind his tongue multiple times not to trip over the words at this sight.

“If you’ll have it,” he said as he smiled her favorite smile and presented her the rose.

“Wow,” she breathed, collecting herself for a second. “Thank you.” 

He dipped his head in response and they shared a knowing smile. 

Then she pressed her lips to his, leaving him completely astounded with the feeling she created. Her kisses were impossibly sweet and nothing near what he had experienced between his former lovers, Milah and Cora. It was so easy to lose himself in it but when she began to pull away to end the kiss he snapped back into his senses. He frowned and chased her, trying and failing to keep the addicting electric feeling pulsing.

“You don’t think I deserve a little more for such a thoughtful gesture?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her and losing himself in her deep blue eyes for what was probably the hundredth time. 

She smiled at what he said but turned away, sauntering back towards the living room. 

“Oh I may have something planned that could serve as a reward,” she threw over her shoulder.

“Ooh!” she had his attention. “And what might this be?” 

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it,” she winked at him before disappearing into the next room. 

He definitely would worry about this, in fact this would probably be the only thing that took up space in his mind before it consumed him but he realized that as long as they were together he could probably live with that, at least for now.


End file.
